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The Ramayana
The Hindu epic The Ramayana is retold through the mural, painting, and dance of Southeast Asia.
Format: book (multiple pages)
The Garuda king
In The Ramayana, page 5.11
The bird-headed Garuda king swoops down and grips three wriggling green serpents in its claws. The front of the Garuda king is brown while his crown, wings, and tail feathers are painted in gold leaf.
By Lorraine Aragon.
Columned library at Emerald Buddha Temple in Bangkok
Columned library at Emerald Buddha Temple in Bangkok
The round library at the Emerald Buddha Temple in Bangkok has a column-supported golden roof with many sculpturally ornamented tiers and one tall, center spire. The central building within compound, the temple library's exterior is covered in detailed gold...
Format: image/photograph
Serpents attack Rama's troops
In The Ramayana, page 5.9
Rama's monkey allies struggle but many lay strewn on the ground, tangled in snakes. Towards the top left corner, the green-skinned Rama sits beside Laksman who is lying bound by a serpent.
By Lorraine Aragon.
Sita proves her purity
In The Ramayana, page 6.13
In this mural detail, Sita stands calmly in a gated area with flames burning around the lotus blossom platform on which she stands. One of the monkey kings lights the fire with a torch in front, while other monkey king spectators are visible at right.
By Lorraine Aragon.
An underground demon
In The Ramayana, page 4.14
This dark and fierce demon, whose top half is seen as if from above, has small tusks and curly hair. He is wearing a gold headdress and arm bands as he pushes the crust of the earth upward. The image is from a mural in the Emerald Buddha Temple.
By Lorraine Aragon.
Hanuman tries to stop the sun
In The Ramayana, page 5.3
A two-faced and eight-armed Hanuman is flying out of the clouds to grab the outer rings of a gold, red, and green sun. The sun is shown here as a nested set of colored concentric circles. A mountain and forest scene is visible below.
By Lorraine Aragon.
Laksman is wounded
In The Ramayana, page 5.2
In this scene, the mortally wounded Laksman lies on his side near boulders in the forest. Rama sits close beside him while the monkey kings and courtiers gather in front of them in a semi-circle. The poison spear now rests on the ground as it has been pulled...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Two Heavenly King statues in courtyard at Emerald Buddha Temple, Bangkok
Two Heavenly King statues in courtyard at Emerald Buddha Temple, Bangkok
Two of four Heavenly King guardian statues at the Emerald Buddha Temple in Bangkok are visible in a courtyard between red-tiled portico roofs. In Buddhism, four celestial kings are said to protect the cardinal directions of north, south, east, and west. These...
Format: image/photograph
Ramayana mural sheltered under portico at Emerald Buddha Temple, Bangkok
Ramayana mural sheltered under portico at Emerald Buddha Temple, Bangkok
Sequential scenes from the Ramayana story are painted on mural walls sheltered under columned porticos at the Emerald Buddha Temple in Bangkok. Pilgrims and tourists can walk around the shaded gallery halls viewing the hundreds of paintings that visually convey...
Format: image/photograph
Hanuman crushes Ravana's soul container
In The Ramayana, page 6.8
Balancing on his right leg, Hanuman grips the wooden cylinder with both hands and his left foot. Hanuman's face looks to the right side of the frame with his mouth wide open in triumph. Hanuman is dressed in gold pants and jewelry with a red waistband, whose...
By Lorraine Aragon.
A demon giant blocks the way
In The Ramayana, page 5.5
A demon giant, seen lying beyond Rama's pavilions, blocks the river's water with his body. The fanged demon lies on his side on the ground while holding his huge sword in his right hand. Rama's group is visible in the foreground as they wait in a Siamese-style...
By Lorraine Aragon.
A demon army attacks Rama
In The Ramayana, page 2.14
Standing gracefully on one foot, Prince Rama (at left) shoots an arrow at a group of demons sent by Ravana, as painted on a mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple. The demons, depicted in varied animal-like forms, crowd around their elephant mount.
By Lorraine Aragon.
A golden deer
In The Ramayana, page 2.7
A two image sequence on a mural painted at the Emerald Buddha Temple depicts a demon's intentional transformation into a deer. In the top image, his legs have turned into those of a golden deer. In the lower image, the demon is fully changed into the deer....
By Lorraine Aragon.
Ravana prepares a poison spear
In The Ramayana, page 5.1
Dressed in royal gold attire, the demon king Ravana sits in a luxurious crimson and blue T-shaped pavillion as he prepares a poisoned spear to fight Rama's army. Bowls of food and drink sit nearby for Ravana's comfort. Below the platform walking on the right...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Hanuman tricks a demon guard
In The Ramayana, page 3.4
On the Ramayana mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple, a detail shows the monkey god Hanuman entering a demon guardian's mouth as he attempts to cross the sea to Lanka. The demon is ornamented on the mural with gold leaf paint.
By Lorraine Aragon.
Hanuman enlists his relatives
In The Ramayana, page 3.3
Seven differently colored monkeys sit on the ground with three of their crowned monkey kings in this detail from a mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple. The monkeys are painted in shades of blue, purple, green, brown, and black. Their three kings wearing tall...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Peace returns to the earth
In The Ramayana, page 7.15
Women pick fruit in a fertile garden, as painted on a mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple. Four women move contentedly around a lush landscape with colorful flowers and ripe fruit growing around boulders. A woman on the right reaches over a boulder to pick...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Hanuman searches for herbal medicines
In The Ramayana, page 5.4
A giant white Hanuman scales a mountain about double his height to find medicinal herbs for Laksman. Hanuman's arms are stretched upward and he wears golden clothes and ornaments. Hanuman's smaller monkey troops follow behind him, running on the ground and...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Sugriva the red monkey king
In The Ramayana, page 4.16
In this mural scene from the Emerald Buddha Tempple, Sugriva lifts the top of the colorful umbrella with his left hand while attacking the demons inside with a sword held high in his right hand. Several tiny demons are falling head first over the sides from...
By Lorraine Aragon.